Lula Belle

busy day in the kitchen

It is so cool and fall like today!!  Beautiful!  Since I can turn on the oven without making everyone miserable I am trying to process the bounty from the garden.  I can hardly keep up with all of it!  

Today I made....

• Bruchetta with the pesto I made last week and a tomato on a baguette for lunch.  
• Pumpkin muffins with the first of the pie pumpkins and the last of 2011's applesauce.  Katie~ These are like your famous muffins mom!"  I love her!  
• We toasted the pumpkin seeds for  snack.  Yum!  
• Two gallons of Kosher dill pickles were made for my pickle eaters.  
• Now I am simmering some vegetable soup for dinner.

I am DONE for the day, but boy do I have more work to do.  

• I have a bucket of tomatoes.  Maybe that roasted tomato soup from last year?  That was so good with goat cheese and cornbread crackers!  
• A table full of zucchini.  One managed to get to be about the size of my upper arm while we were away!!  That alone will probably make 10 loaves of zucchini bread!
• Tons of eggplant.  A friend reminded me of this dish I made last year.  
• And 2 gallons or so of dragons tongue beans to freeze.

Apples

 

Lentil Bulgar Salad

This recipe is from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.  I love love love this cookbook.  There are so many good recipes in it.  It is also full of great tips.  The recipe that I use most often is the Lentil Bulgar Salad.  The first time that I had it, I was a week overdue with Charlie.  My dear friends Marty and Maya made this for lunch and thought to bring some over to share.  Charlie was born that night.  I think that it was this delicious salad that did it!

 

Lentil Bulgar Salad

 

1 cup dry lentils

2 cups water

 

1 cup dry bulgar

1 cup boiling water

 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 medium garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp oregano

2 tbs. fresh mint (optional)

2-3 tbsp freshly minced dill or 2-3 tsp dried dill

1/4 cup packed freshly minced parsley

1/3 cup finely minced red or green onion.  Red is prettier, but green is milder.

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/2 stalk celery, finely minced

 1/2 cup crumbled feta

 

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Tomato wedges

Lemon wedges for garnish

 

Bring lentils and water to a boil.  Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until tender, but not mushy.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

While lentils are cooking, place bulgar in a small bowl.  Add boiling water, cover and let stand 10-15 minutes.

Add everything except, tomatoes, walnuts and lemon to lentils.  Mix gently and thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate.

Just before serving, top with tomatoes and walnuts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lentil Soup

Some of my favorite dishes are made from lentils.  They are quick to cook, delicious to eat and cheap to buy.  The only downfall is that my big kids won't eat them.  They are so missing out. 

When I was in high school I worked as a waitress at a Mediterranean restaurant.  I was a small place run by a sweet man from Jordan.  They had the best food and it really expanded my horizons.  Before working there, I only ever ate pasta or some good old Kentucky granny cooking.  No offense to either, but oh the flavors that I had been missing out on!  I have been trying to find comparable recipes lately.  I have come across a lot of duds, but this one is a winner.

 

Red Lentil Soup

 

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups red lentils

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 onion minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

a pinch of cayenne pepper

 

Bring stock and lentils to a boil.  Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until they pop.

Meanwhile saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Add the cumin and cayenne and saute for another minute.

Add lentils and onions to your food processor and puree.

I serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle fresh parsley on top when I'm feeling fancy.  I also like to have zatar pita on the side.  To make that you brush olive oil on a soft flatbread type pita, sprinkle zatar seasoning on top and toast.  It is so good.

 

Quiche

I love, love love quiche.  For years I have tried to find one that is just right.  I'm not crazy about ham and the cheese ones are too bland.  I have poured over recipes, but none fit the bill.  It's really only been in the last couple of years that I have been comfortable enough in the kitchen to deviate from recipes.  So in light of my new found confidence I present......

Lula's Quiche

1 pie crust (I can't seem to top pilsbury so I just buy one)

1/4 lb. spicy breakfast sausage

1 hand full chopped onion

1 hand full bell pepper

1 c. kale (or spinach or chard)

1/2 summer squash sliced

5-6 eggs

a splash of milk or cream

salt to taste

shredded cheese (I used monterey jack and cheddar)

 

Preheat oven to 375.

Bake your pie crust for 5-10 minutes to keep from getting a soggy bottom on your quiche.  Yuck.

In the meantime saute your onion, pepper and sausage together until the sausage is no longer pink.

Put the sausage, onion and peppers in the pie crust.

Add the kale and squash too.

Beat the eggs with milk or cream and salt and pour over your veggies.

Grate some cheese on the top.

Pop in the oven and bake until the top is golden (30ish minutes)

Let cool.

Enjoy.

 

Feeling oh so good

Things are looking up.  We have mostly kicked the colds that overtook us just before Christmas.  The tree is in the yard waiting to be burned.  My computer has it's new cable and is now taking a charge.  Matt's knee surgery went well and he is off the crutches now.  Fresh spaces and fresh perspectives are all around.  Life is good! 

Since I missed posting over the holidays(see excuses above) I made a little photo update.  We finished off 2010 with lots of time spent cozy at home in our jammies, enjoying time family and friends and trying to carry out most of our traditions as best we could.

Ohio village ::

matchy solstice jammies ::

baking ::

Katie's rocking around the christmas tree party ::

Christmas morning ::

Ringing in the new year with friends ::

the ball drop was a bit of a let down this year ::

and to end on a happy note ::

Here's hoping that you had a beautiful ending to 2010 and a happy healthy start 2011!

Quiet

I have been feeling quiet lately.  With all of the holiday clatter going on around it seems to be all that I can do.  Charlie is cutting some serious teeth and has been sick to boot.  The kids are wild with excitement and from being cooped up inside and my computer(and Tommy) has been having some power issues.  I just can't win.  So I am trying to remain calm.  And Quiet.  Here are some scenes of late.  Maybe I will revisit and elaborate in the near future.

Happy Birthday Matt

Ha.  I just realized that my post didn't post!  So here it is...

 For his birthday I decided to try my hand at a homemade chocolate cake.  It didn't go quite as expected, but tasted delicious!  I used this recipe from the smitten kitchen.  Oh how I love her recipes!  Amazing.

 

Honey~ We are so lucky to have you in our lives.  You are a great partner and an amazing father.  Thanks for being awesome.  We love you.

 
 

A Summer Lunch

Easy goodness! 

Lately

Life has been busy.  I haven't gotten around to doing half of the things that I would like to.  I have had to learn to let some things go.  It isn't going to kill me if the dishes stack up a little bit nor if the floor has dirt all over it.  We have plenty of clothes to last us.  I don't have to do laundry every day.  The plants are waiting to be put in the ground, but If I just water them for a few days, they too will live.  Instead I have been enjoying the beautiful weather in the yard watching my little butterfly float around, playing so hard that she passes out where she sits, wings and all.  Going to soccer games and hockey matches in the driveway and watching as they learn new tricks on the jungle gym.  I do have some monkeys on my hands. Holding my sweet baby, listening to his coos, smelling his sweet baby smell, kissing his fuzzy head, listening as he makes new happy noises at his new best friend the ceiling fan.

   
 
Matt got this for me last weekend.  It was done by a friend down in Cincinnati.  She does amazing work.  I have been wanting one of her pieces for a long time now.  So I was thrilled when I got home and found it.  All of the texture and detail.  I LOVE it so.  Thanks Jennifer!

    

These scones are absolutely amazing.  We devoured them in about an hour.

   
As we have been enjoying beautiful days playing in the yard, I have been thinking about the folks down in Nashville.  The news hasn't covered it much, but my sister lives down there.  To hear her describe the nightmare that they are living through just breaks my heart.